1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a coating film transfer tool which enables the replacement of refills having a transfer tape and more particularly to a coating film transfer tool in which a transfer head is caused to appear and disappear through operation of a push mechanism.
2. Description of Related Art
Coating film transfer tools for transferring a coating film of a correction tape or a glue tape to a transfer-receiving surface are now indispensable as stationery. In general, a coating film transfer tool includes a transfer tape made up of a coating film and a base tape, a feed spool around which an unused transfer tape is wound, a take-up spool which takes up the used transfer tape (the base tape), and a transfer head which presses the transfer tape against a sheet of paper or the like. When caused to slide on a transfer-target object such as a sheet of paper in such a state that the transfer head is kept pressed against the sheet of paper, the coating film transfer tool can pressure-sensitively transfer a coating film on to the transfer-target object.
Conventionally, many of such coating film transfer tools were of the disposable type. In recent years, however, in order to reduce wastes with a view to protecting the environment or from an economical point of view, a type of coating film transfer tools which enables the refill or replacement of transfer tapes constitutes the mainstream of currently marketed coating film transfer tools. In addition, there has also been proposed a transfer head retractable coating film transfer tool in which a retractable transfer head is provided which is retracted or is caused to appear and disappear by operating a push mechanism so that the coating film transfer tool is switched between a usable state and a non-usable state.
For example, JP-A-2004-291284 proposes a retractable transfer head coating film transfer tool in which refills (a coating film transfer tool main body) incorporating a transfer tape are replaced.
In the coating film transfer tool described in the aforesaid patent literature, a coil spring is disposed in front of a refill (a coating film transfer tool main body) so as to bias the refill towards the rear, whereby the refill is connected to a push mechanism.
Because of this, in this coating film transfer tool in which the coil spring is disposed between a front interior of a front case and the refill, when the front case and a rear case are separated from each other in an attempt to replace the refill which has been used up with a fresh refill, there have been fears that the existing refill is forced out to the rear by virtue of the elastic force of the coil spring.